A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has just set a new record.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully carried out its 24th mission on Wednesday, setting a new record for first-stage boosters. The launch took place from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:13 a.m. ET, where the Falcon 9 deployed 24 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. Approximately eight minutes after liftoff, the rocket's first stage successfully landed on a drone ship located off the Florida coast, paving the way for a 25th flight once it has been inspected and refurbished.

The booster, designated by SpaceX as B1067, has participated in previous missions such as CRS-22, CRS-25, Crew 3, Crew 4, TelkomSat-113BT, Turksat-5B, Koreasat-6A, Eutelsat HOTBIRD-F2, Galileo L13, mPOWER-A, and PSN MFS, in addition to 13 dedicated Starlink missions to deploy internet satellites. The last time B1067 was launched was on November 11, and its first flight took place in June 2021.

So far, two other Falcon 9 first-stage boosters have completed 23 flights, while several more have also flown multiple times, leaving B1067 as the leader in mission count. Reusing rockets in this way allows SpaceX to lower the costs of space missions and conduct launches more frequently, making orbital missions an accessible option for a greater number of companies and organizations.

SpaceX successfully landed a 41.2-meter tall Falcon 9 booster vertically for the first time in 2015, and after some challenges in subsequent landing attempts, they refined the process. Currently, SpaceX engineers are focusing on a much greater challenge: the return of the massive Super Heavy booster, which forms the first stage of the Starship rocket. Standing 71 meters tall, its landing is significantly more complicated, leading the company to incorporate "mechanical arms" in the form of "fins" onto the launch tower that secure the booster as it returns to the ground just before the vehicle touches down. SpaceX achieved this feat spectacularly on its first attempt during the fifth test flight of the rocket in October, although it was unable to replicate the maneuver during the sixth test last month. However, with more practice, SpaceX is expected to perfect the landing of the Super Heavy as it prepares for launches to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.